The Greatest Thing You'll Ever Learn
is to Love and be Loved in Return
This is a difficult DVD review to do.
I fell in love with this movie after seeing it once. I then
proceeded to bother everyone I knew into seeing it. Most grudgingly
liked it but would pretend not to (<cough>Byron</cough>).
I am not embarassed to say that I can appreciate a musical.
I don't go gaga for things like "Showboat" or "Oklahoma"
mind you, but just because there's singing does not mean you
need to run screaming from the theatre.
Moulin Rouge brought the musical back
to the modern moviegoing public after quite a hiatus from
the scene. It definitely helped usher in "Chicago"
and its acceptance and eventual awarding of Best Picture.
I digress though.... Let's talk about the movie.
The plot rotates around the young romantic,
Christian, who comes to Montmartre and decides to live the
bohemian life of truth, beauty, freedom and love. He finds
kindred spirits in his apartment building who discover the
gift he has of music and decide to take him to the Moulin
Rouge, which happens to be right across the street. It is
there that he meets his destiny in the form of Satine, the
Sparkling Diamond. What he doesn't know is that her boss,
Zidler, has promised her to a financier, the Duke. As you
can obviously see, problems are on the horizon.
That's the plot. But what makes Moulin
Rouge special is the use of music, sets, and costumes to tell
this amazing story. Only one song in the movie is an original
composition (Come What May), and the rest are reworkings of
popular songs, from Like A Virgin to Roxanne. Most people
will groan the first time when they hear the tango version
of Roxanne or the opening chords of Smells Like Teen Spirit
but you've got to give it to the filmmakers for being so audacious
in their robbery. The chosen music works for the scenes that
it's in. There's no denying it. The Lady Marmalade sequence
that accompanies the Can Can is unbelievable. The Roxanne
scene is powerful. If you give the movie a chance, you'll
find that you agree.
I highly recommend this movie to anyone
who wants to see something that is not quite typical moviemaking.
Relax, enjoy the music and imagery, and be overwhelmed by
an amazing story acted by quite superb players. Ewan McGregor
and Nicole Kidman do not disappoint, whether it be in their
very good singing or in the way they have perfect chemistry.
So come on, you know you want to watch the movie.
Scenes to Remember:
The first night at the Moulin Rouge; Zidler convinces the
Duke to stay; Reprise of Come What May
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Commentary w/ Baz Luhrmann (director/writer/producer), Catherine
Martin (production designer) and Don McAlpine (director of
photography)